BuildCloudways Review (2026): Managed Cloud Hosting from $14/mo
Managed cloud servers with no long contract and no renewal jump: pay monthly or hourly and scale when you grow.
- 3-day free trial, no card
- Unlimited websites
- Free migration
- Prices checked in the real cart
The real Cloudways plans I checked.
DigitalOcean servers from $14 a month, with unlimited websites and visits on every server. When I visited, their live chat offered 40% off for 4 months, so ask them.
- Micro (1 GB RAM)$14/mo
- Medium (4 GB, most popular)$54/mo
- AWS servers from$20.56/mo
Which Cloudways plan should you buy?
Micro
- 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU
- 25 GB NVMe
- 1 TB bandwidth
- Unlimited websites
Medium
- 4 GB RAM, 2 vCPU
- 80 GB NVMe
- Object Cache Pro included
- Unlimited websites
Large
- 8 GB RAM, 4 vCPU
- 160 GB NVMe
- For busy stores
- Unlimited websites
Billed monthly or hourly, before tax. Small: $28/mo (2 GB RAM). Offsite backups about $0.033 per GB.
4-year cost vs other hosts
Hosting only, before tax, from my cart tests. Details in each comparison below.
How to get the lowest price
- 1Start the free trial
Use the button on this page. The 3-day trial needs no card (not on AWS).
- 2Pick a DigitalOcean server
Micro is fine to start; Medium is the most popular.
- 3Ask the live chat for a discount
When I visited, it offered 40% off for 4 months.
My verdict
Cloudways is the step up when a site outgrows shared hosting or when you manage client sites. For a first website, Hostinger is far cheaper and easier.
Is Cloudways right for you?
✅ Great if…
- Your site is growing and needs real server power
- You build sites for clients (agency)
- You want monthly billing with no renewal jump
🚫 Skip it if…
- You are a beginner on a tight budget
- You want a free domain or free email
- You want cPanel
My scores
My own ratings from testing the cart and the dashboard, out of 10. Our overall rating is calculated from four assessed categories: price, renewal pricing, ease of use and features. We have not independently tested customer support response times or resolution quality, so support is excluded from the score.
Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- No contract and no renewal jump
- Unlimited websites on every server
- Free migration, staging and SSL
- 24/7 support
- Object Cache Pro on 4 GB+ servers
👎 Cons
- Starts at $14/mo
- No free domain
- Email is a paid add-on
- No cPanel (own dashboard)
Watch my full review
FAQ
How much does Cloudways cost?
DigitalOcean servers are $14, $28, $54 and $99 a month. AWS starts at $20.56 a month.
Does Cloudways have a free trial?
Yes, 3 days with no card on DigitalOcean (not on AWS).
Does Cloudways include a domain or email?
No. Both are separate; email is a paid add-on.
Is there a renewal price increase?
No. You pay the same monthly or hourly price with no contract.
Ready to start?
DigitalOcean Micro from $14 /mo · billed monthly or hourly, no contract.
Disclosure: this is an affiliate link. If you buy through it I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices change by country and over time.